Hurt
by SyberiaWinx
Summary: This is a fanfic about the four handmaidens, or pacifiers, from Fatal Frame 3. Each chapter will focus on one girl and her unique feelings about her situation. Better than the summary. Please read and review.
1. Hisame Part One: Need

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_I hurt myself today __  
__To see if I still feel __  
__I focus on the pain __  
__The only thing that's real_

Hisame walked at a steady pace through the twisting  
hallways of the Kuze Manor, her narrow eyes focused  
and determined under her perfectly cut bangs.  
The straight strands of black hair that fell past her  
waist swished silently behind her as she moved,  
giving her a more mystical, woman-like appearance  
than a girl of only nine years should have.

The servants of the household bowed and greeted her  
as she passed. She nodded out of politeness and custom,  
but avoided eye contact and did not stop to talk to anyone,  
as she was in a hurry and had no time for idle chitchat.  
Besides, she had no real desire to talk to anyone unless  
she had too and even wanted to avoid the Mistress today.  
All she wanted to do was get to her destination before-

"Oh, excuse me!" Hisame had turned the corner and  
nearly collided with Shigure-her sister and fellow  
handmaiden to the priestess. She was a clumsy,  
emotional girl, but at least she followed her order's  
without question. Her black hair was long-though  
still shorter than Hisame's-and pulled back. She  
wore the same white and blue outfit as her.

"Shigure, shouldn't you be practicing instead of walking  
around the house like an imbecile?" Hisame asked coldly.

The slightly younger girl became flustered and  
looked down in shame. "I-I'm sorry, Hisame..."

"Don't apologize, just get out of my way, Shigure!"  
Her tone was becoming louder and people were  
turning to look at them. Oh, why did the manor  
always have to be so busy and filled with people?  
Her hand was aching...aching for the feeling  
of the hammer and chisel...

Shigure was so startled and frightened that she stood  
frozen on the spot. Hisame let out a cry of frustration  
and pushed the girl out of the way and broke into a run.  
She did not stopped until she reached the Northern Doll  
Altar-a room with walls of tattered straw dolls in red.  
Not even bothering to catch her breath, she snatched  
up her hammer and chisel. After positioning the spike  
she raised the hammer, now hesitating until her racing  
heart calmed.

_This should help...As a Pacifier, I have no need for __  
__stress or guilt._ she thought to herself, screaming  
silently as she swung the hammer down, slamming the  
chisel into the palm of her hand.


	2. Minamo Part One: Change

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_The needle tears a hole __  
__The old familiar sting __  
__Try to kill it all away __  
__But I remember everything_

Minamo was taking a walk in the forest near the  
manor-the sun glinting of the red barrettes holding  
her shoulder-length black hair out of her face. That's  
when she saw it-a gray kitten sleeping in the shade of  
a cherry blossom tree. It was so cute and  
innocent-looking, and it brought back memories of a  
day not so long ago.

She had been taking a walk that day too, with her  
sister and fellow handmaiden Hisame. The pair had  
come across a small bird on the ground. Upon closer  
inspection, they saw that it was badly injured-it looked  
as though an animal had badly torn one of it's wings.

"We have to help it!" Minamo could remember herself  
crying to Hisame. The older girl had said nothing and  
knelt beside the small animal, scooping it up in her tiny  
hands and staring at it with an odd expression on her  
dainty face.

"Hisame...What are you-" Before she could finish her  
sentence, she let out a startled cry as she saw Hisame's  
grip on the bird tighten-squeezing and crushing it.  
"No, stop it!" there were tears in her innocent eyes.

"It has to be this way." Hisame said. "Without the ability  
to fly, even if the bird survived this injury, it would be  
helpless and meet a most gruesome death quickly. You  
must understand this, Minamo-this was neccessary to  
stop the bird from suffering. That is what we do as  
Pacifiers-we grant the suffering a peaceful slumber for  
all eternity."

Minamo nodded and sniffled as she wiped her eyes on  
the sleeve of her kimono. She glanced at Hisame and  
was surprised to see a single tear fall from her eye. A  
surprised look appeared on her face-she had never seen  
Hisame cry before.

Together, the two sisters buried the small body of the bird.  
Oddly enough, this made Minamo feel better-happy to have  
helped save the poor little creature from suffering...She  
would never wish suffering on such a helpless animal.

The handmaiden stirred from her thoughts of the past and  
approached the kitten. She smiled devilishly as she pulled  
her hands from behind her back, revealing that she was  
holding a hammer and chisel.

Oh, how things had changed.


	3. Shigure Part One: Dread

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_What have I become, __  
__My sweetest friend? __  
__Everyone I know __  
__Goes away in the end_

Shigure hurried down the manor's twisted hallways,  
her cheeks hot from the encounter with Hisame a  
few moments ago. She used to love this place, but  
now it frightened her. Her parents had been so happy  
that their little girl had been chosen for such an important  
role-even though they had no idea just what this role was  
and it meant she would be gone from them for quite some  
time,- and so had she...but then she learned what she was  
expected to do...

The Pacifiers who spent their days in their own little altars,  
hammering stakes into dolls...It would not always be like that.  
Some day soon, they would be expected to do it to a real, live   
human-someone who felt pain. The day they had told her that,  
she had been so horrified. Hisame and Amane had worn calm,  
cool expressions, though Amane did look a little bit surprised.  
Minamo had just looked curious, like she was not sure how to  
take this revelation.

What had started out as a simple yet confusing daily task had  
turned into a haunting truth that loomed over constantly. How  
could the Mistress really expect kids like them to do such an  
awful thing-to hammer chisels into the limbs of a girl not much  
older than them. Did the others secretly feel this same dread  
that she did?

But it was not just her terrible task that made the Kuze household  
so creepy. It was the way this manor seemed to change everything-  
not just the corridors that were always being added on to. The  
priestess who was to be impaled had been so kind and always smiled  
before, but now there was always a sadness in gentle expressions  
and she seemed to have lost her lust for life. Hisame, who had been  
kind at heart, was now mean and watched over them like she was the  
boss. Minamo's innocent, child-like manner had been swallowed up by  
a sort of insanity that caused her to take pleasure in the hurting and   
suffering of others. Only her and Amane seemed close to who they  
had been when they first came here. Of course, Amane had been  
born in this place, so maybe it did not affect her as much.

Shigure shut herself up inside her own doll altar, where no one  
else could bother her. She suddenly felt more aware than ever  
of the tattered, red-clothed dolls that were stuck to the wall.  
They seemed to be alive-surrounding her, coming closer. The  
door she had just come through opened. Her name-the dolls  
were howling her name in accusation! She could hear the sound  
of the hammer striking the chisel. The dolls were screaming in  
pain now, but she did not care. Let them die-let them all die!

The little girl let out a maddening scream, and the room at last  
fell silent, save for her trying to reagain her breath. A teapot  
and cup lay shattered near the door, liquid seeping into the  
mat on the floor. Shigure knelt in the center of the room,  
staring down at the chisel embedded in the heart of the young  
woman who had come to offer her afternoon tea and the dark  
red stains on her previously-clean clothes and the hammer  
in her hands...


	4. Amane Part One: Innocence

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_And you could have it all __  
__My empire of dirt __  
__I will let you down __  
__I will make you hurt_

Amane Kuze twirled the brown leaf in her hand by it's  
stem, her other hand tugging on one of her short black  
pigtails clasped by a black band with small red spheres  
on it. She had just come from Miss Reika's room, and  
she really did not feel like practising the impalement  
that she would soon be performing on her new friend.  
Instead, she was laying on her back on the walkway that  
surrounded the garden courtyard, staring at the leaf she  
had found-a rare, fragile thing that must have blown in  
from somewhere far away. Her thoughts drifted to her  
meeting with Reika as she stared at it.

The two had been folding origami together, making little  
cranes out of the colorful paper. Hers had been all crumpled  
and messy-looking, but Reika's had looked so perfect. That  
was why she had been so shocked when the older girl tore it  
up with a sad smile on her face.

"Birds do not like to fly alone." she had said, partly to Amane  
and partly to herself. "Those of us who are left behind must  
remain on the ground forever-our wings pinned to the ground,  
we will never be able to soar through the clouds freely."

For the first time, Amane had started to question her duty  
and the role of the priestess in the ceremony. Why should  
one person be responsible for shouldering the suffering of  
everyone? Should not everyone learn to cope with their  
own instead of forcing it upon someone else?

The young girl clenched her fists. Reika had suffered  
enough on her own-why did she have to suffer for all  
eternity? She was so young...Her whole life should be  
ahead of her, not an eternal slumber filled with suffering.

Amane forced herself to relax and sat up. From that day  
on, things would never be the same. Her life could no  
longer be one of blissful ignorance. The weight of her  
duty would burden her even after it was completed. She  
suddenly saw Reika as the leaf in her hands-once a  
happy part of something, suddenly whisked away  
from all it had ever known, ultimately to end up crushed in  
the grip of an innocent killer.

At the same time she herself felt like the leaf, as she turned  
hand upside down and watched the tattered pieces of what  
had once been a whole being be snatched up by the wind  
and be carried off into the distance-like her innocent heart-  
never to return...


	5. Amane Part Two: Gone

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_If I could start again __  
__A million miles away __  
__I would keep myself __  
__I would find a way_

Amane had been surprised when she spotted him-  
Kaname, the brother she had never before met-  
lurking around outside the mansion with a look of  
longing on his face. Even though she had never  
met him, somehow she had been able to recognize  
him instantly. But...why was he there?

She got her answer during one of her recent visits  
with Reika. It was winter now-nearly time for the  
ritual to be performed. Reika had not been  
speaking as much, instead spending all her time  
staring out the window-watching the snow paint the  
ground white. Her despondant expression had  
suddenly brightened when she saw Kaname outside,  
become a sad smile. Amane had noticed and asked if  
she knew him. Reika confessed that she had known  
him back in her village...She had been in love with him.

Amane decided then and there to find a way for Reika  
and her brother to meet. With the ritual approaching  
so quickly, she wanted to do something to make Reika  
feel better, even if it was against the rules of the Kuze  
household and she would be punished if caught, it was  
worth it. She snuck out of the manor one night and  
introduced herself to Kaname. He was so warm and  
kind...Her heart filled with happiness just talking to him.  
But there was no time for them to talk about all the things  
Amane wished to. After the ritual, she would give up her  
duty of being a Pacifier and leave with her brother. She  
told him of her plan for him and Reika to meet.

It was the day of the ceremony. Amane had successfully  
snuck Kaname into the manor after imapling Reika and  
led him to the shrine in it's depths. From there, he was  
on his own in finding the sleeping Reika. Amane prayed  
nothing bad would happen when the priestess was  
awakened. She had to go meet with the other Pacifiers  
before they suspected that something was going on.

They spent hours in the secret room, discussing their  
return to their own homes with the mistress. Aname  
shifted uncomfortably the whole time, worrying about  
her brother and what would happen if they caught him.  
When the mistress finally said they could go and get  
some sleep for their departure tomorrow. As she  
hurried to the door, she saw Hisame, Minamo, and  
the mistress were all looking at her oddly, and Shigure  
was still sitting, look down at her hands with a sad  
expression. She left quickly.

_They know..._ she realized. Kaname could be in danger!

With all the speed her little body could muster, Amane ran all  
the way to the shrine. Once he had seen Reika and left, he  
he would leave a candle in a hiding place they had determined.  
She checked, but nothing was there, so she ran inside and down  
the underground spiral staircase. The large door at the bottom  
of the huge stone room was where she hoped to find Kaname  
waiting for her. If he was much deeper, they might not be able  
to sneak away without being seen.

But as she went to open the door, something struck her in the  
head, and she lost consciousness. She was awoken by a sharp  
pain in her limbs. Groggily, she opened her eyes, aching with  
pain. She was laying on the hard stone ground, Hisame,  
Shigure, and Minamo hovering over her.

Gasping she tried to get up, and pain once again shot through  
her-four stakes pinned her hands and legs down. Helpless,  
she looked up at them, wondering what fate lay in store for  
her-no one but the priestess could be put in eternal sleep  
through impalement.

The other three handmaidens spoke, their voices swimming  
together- sounding so distant and distorted...like they weren't  
even human anymore.

_"You'll never escape, Amane."_ Hisame said, smiling.

_"You broke the rules..."_ Shigure spoke, her eyes avoiding   
Amane's. 

_"You'll never escape."_ Minamo's voice melded with theirs.

_"That's why..."_ Shigure actually sounded sad.

_"It's over now."_ Minamo looked so twisted.

_"...we have to do this..."_ Shigure spoke last.

_What are they going to...?_ Her thoughts trailed off, and her  
eyes widened, as the three got on their knees around her,  
hammers and stakes in hand. The careful placed the tips of their  
stakes on her abdomen. They raised their hammers in unison,  
swinging them down over and over, pushing the stakes deeper  
each time into her soft flesh.

Amane screamed helplessly as her blood spread beneath her,  
tears streaming down her cheeks. And then the pain was gone,  
and the darkness took her away.


	6. Shigure Part Two: Sorrow

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

_What have I become, __  
__My sweetest friend? __  
__Everyone I know __  
__Goes away in the end_

Shigure still could not believe it. Amane was dead.  
And even worse, she had helped kill her. The girl  
she considered her friend...her _sister_...was   
gone forever. Not to the peaceful land of sleep  
where the priestess was, but somewhere far, far  
away-a place where it was always dark, filled  
with tortured souls...just like in the stories the  
mistress had told them.

The young girl wept as she sat on the small staircase  
in the kimono room. She did not want to be in her  
doll altar right now, surrounded by all those impaled  
dolls. She had hurt too many people...the servant,  
the priestess, and now Amane. When she died, would  
the spirits of those she had hurt drag her down to hell  
with them?

"Shigure!" 

The Pacifier hugged her knees closer to her chest, no  
longer even bothering to wipe away her tears, as more  
would soon come anyway. She could hear Hisame calling  
her, but did not want to see her-the one who had told them  
they had to kill Amane. Somehow she knew that whatever  
she wanted to find her for now was even worse than that.

Something had happened when they left the shrine after  
killing Amane. The ground had begun to shake, and  
everything had seemed darker than before-unnaturally  
dark. The mistress had come running out of the shrine  
and told Hisame to come with her quickly, and for her  
and Minamo to go wait in their respective altars. But  
she had been too afraid, so she came here. All the  
servants in the manor seemed to have vanished, so  
there was no one around to find her.

"Shigure!!" 

The sudden shout so close by made the little girl jump.  
She looked up. It was Hisame. The eldest of them had  
finally found her.

"Shigure, where have you been? Didn't the mistress tell  
you to go to your altar?" When Shigure did not answer,  
nor even look at her, she went on. "It's no matter now.  
Come with me."

Sniffling, she stood and wiped the wetness from her eyes  
and followed her fellow Pacifier to the door. "Where are we  
going?" she asked quietly.

Hisame stopped right where she held open the door and  
turned, a smile of devious delight on her face that frightened  
Shigure, and replied:

"We're going to kill Minamo."


	7. Minamo Part Two: Never

Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame 3

* * *

_I wear this crown of thorns _

_Upon my liar's chair __  
__Full of broken thoughts __  
__I cannot repair_

Minamo ran down the hallway, no longer caring  
if she disobeyed the mistress' orders. She was  
no idiot-she knew that something had gone  
wrong. The manor was darker than it had been  
only moments earlier and not a single soul was  
anywhere to be seen.

Her destination was the secret room where they  
had always met to discuss the art of impaling.  
She recalled the mistress once telling her that  
should evil forces ever drift into the manor, it  
was the safest place to be.

Not that Minamo was afraid. She was a Pacifier-  
a handmaiden entrusted with the duty of caring  
for and impaling the priestess for the ceremony.  
Nothing scared her anymore-not when she had  
her hammer and chisel in her hand.

The young girl scrambled across the roof, her  
small feet sliding on the wetness created from  
the snow that was now falling-completely out  
of season. She slipped once and nearly fell off  
the roof. Though cold and shaken, she managed  
to get back up and keep running.

Once she was inside the room on the other side, she  
threw open the trapdoor and went down. Hisame and  
Shigure were already there waiting for her, she noted  
as she climbed down the ladder. Now she was finally  
safe...

But no sooner did her foot touch the floor, than she  
felt something hard strike the back of her head. She  
was faintly aware that she wall falling, but lost  
consciousness before she hit the ground. And she was  
laying there spread-eagle when she awoke, stakes  
pinning her limbs down.

Tears were streaming from her eyes as she struggled  
to free herself, screaming from the pain. But she did  
manage to pull her arms free, only to be forced back  
down by Hisame, who ordered a tearful Shigure to impale  
her hands again, but to use the chisels Minamo had dropped  
this time and make fresh holes.

Minamo could not hold back her fear as she screamed and  
cried hysterically as the deed was done. Her pleas and sobs  
fell on deaf ears as the two remaining Pacifiers proceeded to  
impale stakes in her torso-a task which had to be repeated to  
cease the girl's movement.

Shigure fell to her knees, crying. "I'm so sorry, Minamo!  
I'm so sorry!"

Hisame shot her a look of disgust, then begun to laugh  
hysterically. "Why are you crying, Shigure? Because  
you are sad you killed her? I find it funny-she used get  
such pleasure out of impaling things, so how ironic that  
she should die this way!" The child's cackle was insane  
now. She picked up the remaining chisels on the floor  
of the room. "Or are you crying because you know you  
are going to end up just like her?"

Shigure looked at her in wide-eyed terror. "W-what?"  
she squeaked, attempting to scramble back away from  
the older girl.

But Hisame dove forward and sat on the girl's waist,  
preventing her from escaping. "You can't run away!"  
she giggled madly, grabbing Shigure's wrist and forcing  
it to the floor, securing it's immobility by stabbing the  
chisel into it. "You can _never _run away!"

Shigure's screams were loud and terrified enough to  
fill the entire manor...But what was even more  
frightening, was that Minamo was still alive and aware  
enough to hear them.


End file.
